Reposted by David WelchKristian G. Andersen @kgandersen.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Just a friendly reminder that plague is prevalent, including in the western United States (see, prairie dogs), with multiple cases annually. It is also highly treatable and, yes, lab acquired infections (incl. fatal cases) have happened over the years, including e.g., UChicago. 1725289
Reposted by David WelchBK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 05/10/2026The mysterious death of a scientist at a plague institute in Siberia has sparked “next pandemic” panic. I wrote about what we know, what we don’t, why plague is not the Black Death in 2026 and the real outbreaks we ignore while worrying about hypothetical ones. bktitanji.substack.com/p/plague-is-...bktitanji.substack.comPlague is Scary but That Doesn’t Make It the Next Pandemic.Why a mysterious death in Siberia has captured our attention while far more consequential outbreaks struggle to do the same 1013750
Reposted by David WelchAngie Rasmussen @angierasmussen.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Hey Angie, I have a question. It is about: Lesbians COVID Western Massachusetts Fighting on social media about public health policy … Goddammit, I hate being uniquely qualified for everything rasmussenretorts.substack.com/p/a-deep-div...rasmussenretorts.substack.comA Deep Dive into the Last Ditch by an Expert on COVID and Western Massachusetts LesbiansI am a bisexual virologist who studies emerging coronaviruses, a Smith College alumna, and a veteran lesbian social critic. Ask me anything about respiratory raw-dogging your next Feeld date 2579
David Welch @welchdavid.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Got 13/15 but only but process of elimination and some lucky guesses. My daughter is subjected to this food daily and it is horrible. Among the multitude of reasons not to vote Act, this is one of the more visceral ones. 010
Reposted by David WelchNick Baker @nickbaker.digital · 27/09/2026This is your school holiday assignment. Complete the school lunch quiz by matching the image to the name - a quiz based on the school lunch images sent by @ninjakitty.bsky.social this past school term. There are 15 images in total. forms.gle/et7qDL4VGBJH...forms.gleThe Aotearoa New Zealand School Lunch QuizThe images show 15 school lunches delivered to a school in August 2026. Your task is to pick the name that was assigned to each one. 6514385
Reposted by David WelchGir @edufk.bsky.social · 22/09/2026"New Zealand First appears to have copied most of its health policy from a natural health advocacy group - even going so far as to copy a typo from the group’s website into their official policy documents." www.stuff.co.nz/politics/361...stuff.co.nzNZ First’s health policy copy-pasted from advocacy group’s websiteNew Zealand First released a health policy on Sunday that is largely copy-and-pasted from a charitable trust called Make New Zealand Healthy. 108544
David Welch @welchdavid.bsky.social · 15/09/2026Govt planning cuts to BRANZ which does building and materials research in NZ. I'm currently building a 35 unit development, at ~$1M per unit. Levy was $420 per unit. Would happily pay more $ for research -get a wider range of approved materials and lower costs. #nzpol www.rnz.co.nz/news/busines...rnz.co.nzDecades of building industry research at riskThe future of our world-respected building research association is looking shaky with a government move to cut the dedicated levy that funds it. 120
Reposted by David WelchAndrew Gelman et al. @statmodeling.bsky.social · 25/08/2026Bayesian Workflow free pdf! statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2026/08/25/b...statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu Bayesian Workflow free pdf! | Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science 17429
Reposted by David WelchAnna Santure @annasanture.bsky.social · 24/08/2026University of Auckland is looking for: Lead Technologist – Genomics - Te Kura Mātauranga Koiora | School of Biological Sciences in Auckland, New Zealand. jobs.smartrecruiters.com/TheUniversit...jobs.smartrecruiters.comLead Technologist – Genomics - Te Kura Mātauranga Koiora | School of Biological SciencesCompany Description: Waipapa Taumata Rau | The University of AucklandKo te whare Pūtaiao | The Faculty of Science at the University of Auckland is the largest and most highly... 0914
Reposted by David WelchKristian G. Andersen @kgandersen.bsky.social · 24/08/2026We have a (dry lab) Postdoc Position in Viral Genomics & Pathogen Surveillance here in wonderful and sunny San Diego 🏄♂️☀️! We're looking to continue to build our AI and broader infectious disease surveillance efforts, with a focus on our outbreak.info platform. Read more: andersen-lab.com/about/andersen-lab.comAbout | Andersen LabLearn more about the Andersen Lab, as well as jobs and career opportunities. 13531
David Welch @welchdavid.bsky.social · 20/08/2026Really good study here about media coverage of covid origins. Despite all the scientific evidence pointing at a zoonotic origin, major US outlets publish much more about a lab leak. And on youtube, engagement with pro-lab leak videos completely dominates. 095
Reposted by David WelchPhilipp Markolin @philippmarkolin.eurosky.social · 18/08/2026In 2026, there is no longer any lab leak hypothesis you can state consistently with the available evidence. Despite this, it has been the dominant media narrative for six years. Read my new data-driven investigation: www.protagonist-science.com/p/biased-med...protagonist-science.comBiased media coverage and the lab leak theoryGain-of-function fearmongering and blame gets the glitzy NYT visual treatment as Republicans weaponize the lab leak theory again in attacks on Dr. Anthony Fauci 12343143
David Welch @welchdavid.bsky.social · 20/08/2026Agree Te Pāti Māori shouldn't be trying to engineer an overhang. What's a good way of making sure an overhang is not possible while still retaining proportionality? Having just have one vote so that the party and electorate vote are the same? thespinoff.co.nz/politics/19-...thespinoff.co.nzTe Pāti Māori will be in risky territory if it tries to engineer an overhangExploitation of the overhang loophole has always been possible, but no party has tried it because of how voters are likely to react. 100
David Welch @welchdavid.bsky.social · 16/08/2026Prob not something I'd skite about to a journalist. 000
Reposted by David WelchPerception / i-Perception @pec-ipe.bsky.social · 06/08/2026🌊 👀 Can two simple patterns create something that really isn't there? This new paper introduces Dynamic Illusory Waves (DIWAs)—a striking illusion where relative motion gives rise to flowing, transparent phantom surfaces. Make your own: maltacogsci.org/diwa/ Full paper: doi.org/10.1177/2041... 33413
Reposted by David Welchsamuel mehr @mehr.nz · 06/08/2026Reuben Davidson with a good speech in parliament on the shocking cuts to New Zealand science Davidson actually showed up to my office at Auckland Uni (!!) to discuss how scientists need to be supported in this country, and how to ensure we don't lose a generation of boffins to foreign shores #nzpol 46124
Reposted by David WelchMusical Chairs @musicalchairs.bsky.social · 05/08/2026Regular viewers will know that I had serious doubts about the 'recovery' well before Trump decided to cause global chaos (and trading opportunities for his buddies). Suffice to say, today's unemployment data is GRIM! Let's have a look... Unemployment rate vs the guesses of clueless ghouls. [🧵 1/n] 26436
Reposted by David WelchSimon J. Greenhill @simongreenhill.bsky.social · 23/06/2026MBIE has released the details on the New Zealand's "Transition Research Fund". It transitions research the way a hospice transitions patients. scienceskillsandinnovation.cmail20.com/t/r-l-tujiik...scienceskillsandinnovation.cmail20.comTransition Research Fund 2027 | Ministry of Business, Innovation & EmploymentThe 2027 Transition Research Fund ensures we continue to support great ideas from inception all the way through to the benefits they deliver for New Zealand. The fund supports high quality foundationa... 02513
Reposted by David WelchSimon J. Greenhill @simongreenhill.bsky.social · 30/04/2026This is possibly the most blatant case of citation farming I've seen. Quality control at Elsevier: www.chrisbrunet.com/p/third-edit...chrisbrunet.comThird Editor Fired in Elsevier's Citation Cartel Crackdown; Hundreds of Papers At Risk of Retraction"This is not a series of coincidences; it is a blatant, industrial-scale quid pro quo." 384
Reposted by David WelchDavid Winter @dwinter.bsky.social · 27/04/2026Cool slow-burning story I got to be a little part of www.phfscience.nz/news-publica... Way back in 2010 the enteric lab here at PHF Science got a Yersinia isoalte that quite fit with what we expect from Y. enterocolitica. We got a few more of these over time and built some tools to track themphfscience.nzBack to the future: discovery of a new bacterial species, decades in the making 154
Reposted by David WelchMichael Plank @michaelplanknz.bsky.social · 27/04/2026This divide and conquer nonsense undermines trust in our scientists - by @nicgaston.bsky.social newsroom.co.nz/2026/04/24/t...newsroom.co.nzThis divide and conquer nonsense undermines trust in our scientistsComment from Auckland University: ‘Accountability’ is wielded against scientists, while politicians and bureaucrats are shielded 1218
David Welch @welchdavid.bsky.social · 04/11/2025Super happy to have a chance to help @siouxsiew.bsky.social after her epic few years of work which which was rewarded by her employer (also my employer) battling her in court over whether scicomm is real academic work (law said it is). Please support her if you can www.pledgeme.co.nz/projects/852...pledgeme.co.nzSupport Dr Siouxsie After She Supported Us! | PledgeMeSupport Dr Siouxsie to recover some of the money she spent fighting her legal case to protect employees experiencing online abuse 1207
Reposted by David WelchJanine Paynter @janinepaynter.bsky.social · 23/10/2025About measles, the risks and the best protection you can get by my fantastic colleagues theconversation.com/nz-may-be-on...theconversation.comNZ may be on the cusp of another measles outbreak – what happened in 2019 should be a warningOnly about 82% of two-year-olds are fully immunised against measles, with two doses of the vaccine. This leaves at least one in five unprotected. 097
Reposted by David WelchAssiduously Julie @awaterevalley.bsky.social · 03/06/2025👏👏👏 University of Auckland ordered to pay scientist Siouxsie Wiles $205,000 in court costs www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/siouxsie-...nzherald.co.nz'Tsunami of threats': Auckland uni ordered to pay Siouxsie Wiles $205kThe final amount was more than Wiles first sought from her employer. 919650
Reposted by David WelchAndrew Rambaut (🐏🎀) @arambaut.bsky.social · 25/05/2025A long thread about mpox and the context specific nature of outbreaks prompted by the large outbreak of MPXV Clade IIb happening at the moment in Sierra Leone: 29046
Reposted by David WelchKristian G. Andersen @kgandersen.bsky.social · 22/05/2025Since the NYT Armchair Brigade is at it again, let me just share a few public quotes made in May, 2020. 1️⃣ "Even Kristian Andersen [.] first thought that COVID-19 was just as likely to have been accidentally released from a lab as it was to have come from nature" www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/sci...cidrap.umn.eduScientists: 'Exactly zero' evidence COVID-19 came from a lab 314148
Reposted by David WelchShaun Hendy @hendysh.bsky.social · 28/04/2025The Covid Response will be launched tomorrow in Wellington at the Royal Society Te Apārangi. There will be copies for purchase and Susie Ferguson and I will be talking about the book - and our pandemic response and preparedness - from 6-7pm www.bwb.co.nz/events/the-c...bwb.co.nz'The Covid Response' by Shaun Hendy - BWB Talks, Wellington! - BWB Bridget Williams BooksBridget Williams Books invites you to a BWB Talk in Wellington with Shaun Hendy in conversation with Susie Ferguson, discussing his new book, The Covi... 59228
Reposted by David WelchMichael Plank @michaelplanknz.bsky.social · 16/01/2025We are advertising two PhD scholarships to work on models of the interaction between ethnicity and infectious disease dynamics at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. Open to international students. Please share! www.findaphd.com/phds/project... @iddjobs.bsky.socialfindaphd.comModelling the interaction between ethnicity and infectious disease dynamics at University of Canterbury on FindAPhD.comPhD Project - Modelling the interaction between ethnicity and infectious disease dynamics at University of Canterbury, listed on FindAPhD.com 02524
Reposted by David WelchAngie Rasmussen @angierasmussen.bsky.social · 04/12/2024Grateful to @smritimallapaty.bsky.social for covering our analysis of host transcriptional infection signatures at the Huanan market! Still not the “smoking raccoon dog” but getting closer… www.nature.com/articles/d41...nature.comSick animals suggest COVID pandemic started in Wuhan marketA preliminary analysis takes a closer look at genomic data collected at the market. 727697
Reposted by David WelchNicola Gaston @nicgaston.bsky.social · 04/12/2024First thing written. Need to walk it off and then will write the longer follow up 🤷♀️ #MarsdenSchmarsden 1420167
Reposted by David WelchMichael Plank @michaelplanknz.bsky.social · 04/12/2024This is so backward 1. Science is more than just commercialisable widgetry 2. Making progress on our biggest problems (climate change, infectious diseases, misinfo to name a few) will need more collaboration between STEM and hum/social sci not less. 821568
David Welch @welchdavid.bsky.social · 03/12/2024Handy RStudio editor features: Duplicate line Opt+Cmd+Up/Down (PC is Shift+Alt+Up/Down) Add multiple cursors Ctrl+Opt+Up/Down (PC is Ctrl+Alt+Up/Down) 010